Sharon Lorenzo in the Naples Art Institute in Florida.

Henri Emile Benoit Matisse.

The Naples Art Institute is a lovely modern structure which combines exhibition space and classrooms for adults and children of all ages. The current show of works on paper by Henri Matisse is a display of 140 etchings and drawings which embrace his 85 years of exploration via artistic expression in color, form, and composition.

Matisse was born into the family of a wealthy grain merchant in France where he attended law school in Paris for a brief time. When he was home recovering from an appendix operation, his mother brought paper and crayons to keep him busy. He then transferred to the École des Beaux Arts and studied the works of 19^th century French painters in the Louvre. Soon his works embraced vivid colors like his peers, Andre Derain and Pablo Picasso, whom he met in 1906. They all submitted art to the Salon D’Automne in 1906, and their works were bought by American collectors, Gertrude Stein and Albert Barnes.

Matisse relocated his studio to Nice in southern France to avoid the conflicts of World War I and was hired by Barnes to come to the United States to do a major mural installation in his home near Philadelphia.

Barnes Foundation, Matisse mural.

While in the USA, Matisse visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. His drawings in the Naples space mirror his fascination with the Native American art of the Inuit and other Eskimo tribes at the museum.

Inuit drawing, charcoal on paper.

Inuit face amidst floral cutouts on colored paper.

Another section of this exhibition shows the work of Matisse in his later years when, with an attack of cancer, he was confined to a wheelchair. Determined not to let his creativity slip, he began to do cutouts of paper images with scissors. With the help of his son Pierre, he received a commission to design a chapel in Vence, near his home, where the stained glass windows allow the light to pass through with brilliant color.

Matisse chapel in Vence, France.

Matisse with scissors working on Vence project.

Vence, France work on paper for chapel windows.

This space was also visited by John Rockefeller, Jr. who then asked Matisse to design a small window for his local church in the Pocantico Hills in northern New York State. This space is open to the public for visitation.

Union Church, Pocantico Hills, New York

One of the lovely things about works on paper is that they capture the initial artistic creativity of the artist and are not worked over like paintings or sculpture. This makes this exhibition wonderful for art students who can see how a master like Matisse worked out various ideas in his mind on paper. His important paintings and sculpture are in museums all over the world. These 140 items embrace the deeply spiritual efforts of a gifted modern artist throughout the 85 years of his life.